Why have web standards & guidelines?

As a diverse, urban university, the many schools and departments within Virginia
Commonwealth University offer unique cultures and perspectives. Each individual department
and school reflects that variation. The web publishing guidelines have been established to
accommodate the individuality of each unit's websites, while sustaining a consistent
university environment with standard visual elements and an accessible experience
throughout the VCU domain.

Adhering to the VCU web standards & guidelines for your website will help:

create a strong and unified identity for Virginia Commonwealth
University and identify your organization as a member of the university
community,

provide a good experience for visitors by making your site more
accessible, quicker and easier to use, and more secure,

and establish consistency among the many unique school and departmental
websites.

The web standards and guidelines laid out on the following pages are a good starting point
for making your sites more usable and accessible to visitors. This site only brushes the
surface on many of the best practices covered - see the additional
resources to delve deeper.

Personal sites

Personal websites for faculty, staff, and students must comply with all general
regulations in addition to the guidelines for personal websites. Compliance with
accessibility and web development
guidelines is suggested but not required.